Conventionally, a broken or cut electrical wire is repaired by splicing the two ends of the wire together using various mechanisms and techniques. One mechanism for the repair of a broken or cut wire is to remove the insulation from the two ends of the broken wire that are to be reconnected, inserting the two exposed electrical wires into a metal sleeve and then crimping the two ends of the metal sleeve to both hold the two ends of the wires in place and make a secure electrical connect of the two wires through the metal sleeve. The region of the wires on either side of the crimping sleeve are then sealed from environmental conditions by placing a shrink wrap insulator tube with sealing rings over the crimped sleeve and adjacent regions of the wires on each side of the crimped sleeve. Heat is applied to the heat shrink wrap to cause the insulator tube to shrink and sealing rings to melt and form a seal around the crimped sleeve and wires on either side of the crimped sleeve. Sealing the crimping member with heat-activated shrink wrap involves the use of a second tool during splice repair for the application of high temperatures. Additionally, high temperatures may not be suitable for all repairs. For example, if the repair is of an electrical wire in an aircraft or any other vehicle with a fuel tank, the application of high temperature to cause the heat-activated shrink wrap to shrink and form the seal would first require the evacuation of flammable liquids from the tanks, an expensive and time consuming process. An example of heat-activated shrink wrap for sealing crimping members is shown in FIG. 1. A sheath 102 includes meltable elements 104 on either end of sheath with the sheath positioned around the crimped sleeve. Heat is applied to the sheath 104 to close the ends of the sleeve 102 and seal the spliced region of the wire from external environmental conditions.
Another solution for electrical wire repair is application of a cold-bond sheath. The cold-bond sheath is applied over a crimped sleeve and a chemical reaction seals the crimped sleeve inside the sheath. No heat is applied to the sleeve during repair, reducing safety hazards and reducing complications of the repair. However, a cold-bond sheath assembly has not proved to be a satisfactory solution for many applications.